johnson



-(No Model.)

J. JOHNSON.

2 SheetsSheet 1.

OIL FILTER 0R SEPARATOR.

Patented Dem 16, 1890.

I'II III IH INVE: "FUR:

we uuams FlTiRS cm, FHOTO-LIYHO., msmum'ux, o. c.

trough or groove formed by the flange b, said UNITED STATES I PATENTOFFICE.

' JAMES JOHNSON, OF NEENAI-I, \VISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-IIALF TOSYDNEY SMITH, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

OIL FILTER OR SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,896, dated December16, 1890.

Application filed June 6, 1890.

T0 ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMEs J OHNSON, of Neenah, in the county ofNVinnebago and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Oil Filters or Separators, of which the following is'aspecification.

This invention relates to an improvement in filters capable ofseparating from oil or other lubricant which has been used inlubrieating parts of engines or machinery or which may have beenrendered impure from any other cause the impurities which it may containand so render it fit for use again for the same purpose.

The invention comprises two receptacles or tanks, each of which may besaid to be divided into two compartments by a removable foraniinouspartition supporting a mass of filtering material consisting of wool andcotton in their natural state thoroughly intermingled, said tanks beingprovided with the details and arranged and operating in the manner whichI will now proceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a sectional view of the two tanks embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 represents a sectional view of the secondary tank whenused alone.

Ct represents the primary receptacle or tank, into which the oil orother lubricant to be filtered is first introduced. On the interior ofthe tank a is affixed the upwardly-projectin g flange b, which forms anannular groove or trough, and which supports the removable foraminouspartition 0. Said partition 0 may be formed of concentric rings of flatmetal arranged edgewise and joined together at different points, havingsharp upper edges adapted to catch the wool supported thereon andprevent the same from slipping down between the rings. The outerconcentric ring of said partition or grating c rests in the groovehaving in its angle a layer of the filtering material presentlydescribed. The outer ring of the grating c pressing therein forms atight filtering-joint, through which no 011 can pass without beingfiltered. The rings of said partition 0 are preferably arranged so thatsaid partition is saucer-shaped.

Serial No- 354,501- (No model.)

Above the partition 0 and supported thereby is a layer or mass (Z offiltering material.

In practice I find that a mixture of animal and cotton wools is the bestmaterial for the purpose, as it possesses and retains fora considerabletime a natural elastic spring, which renders it less liable to getsodden and clogged up, and thus become unfit for filtering purposes. Onthe top of the layer of wool (Z I place a thick woolen felt e, the edgesof which are brought up near to the top of the tank a and are pressedagainst the Walls thereof, by a spring f. The felt c is designed tocatchand hold all the coarser and larger impurities which the oil maycontain, thus saving much labor, the felt itself being easily removedand cleansed or renewed, while the wool below is prevented fromreceiving the ooarserimpurities, and therefore does not require to becleansed or renewed so often as it would otherwise have to be.

The tank a has a false bottom g, which is provided with an outlet h atits lowermost portion, which is controlled by a cock operated by theknob or handle it on the outside of the tank. The false bottom 9 is alsoprovided wit-h two valves it, situated near its uppermost portion andcontrolled by cocks t" i, operated from the exterior of the tank. Thisfalse bottom, as above described, forms a settling-chamber 7c for wateror other heavy impurities, if any should come so far. The chamber 7.;may be flushed out and cleansed when it is found necessary so to do byclosing the valves t' t h and opening the outletm at the lowest portionof said chamber 7;. The nozzle of a hose may then be inserted in theinlet 11, situated near the top of said chamber 71;. water forcedthrough the chamber 7a until it is thoroughly cleansed. The tank a isalso provided with a glass gage-tube Z), by which the height of the'oilin the chamberp may be seen. A11 air-tube d enters the upper 95 portionof the said chamber 29, said tube running upwardly outside of the tankand having its top level with the top of said tank, said top beingprovided with holes by which the air can enter said tube.

0 is an outlet-pipe, which leads from the upper portion of the chamber13 in the pri IOI) Said nozzle may then be opened and mary tank a to thelower portion of the secondary tank g.

In the secondary tank r is an upwardlyprojecting flange affixed to thewall of said tank, which forms an annular groove therearound, and whichsupports a removable foraminous partition 5 of the same nature andconstruction as the partition 0 in the tank (I, already described, thejoint between said partition s and said flange being of the same natureand arrangement as that between the partition 0 and flange b abovementioned. Upon said partition sis supported another layer or mass 6 offiltering material similar to that hereinbefore described. The layer imay be held down by another foraminous partition or grating s" of thesame construction as the before-described partitions c and s. Saidpartition .9 may be held down on the layer 25 by an annular flange V,which is adapted to be affixcd to the wall of the tank qby means ofscrews 1' and to be slightly adjustable, so as to hold a greater or lessquantity of filtering material between itand the partition 5. The jointbetween the partition s and the flange t is of the same nature andarrangement as the joints of the other two partitions c and s with theirsupporting-flanges, the only difference being that the flange t projectsdownwardly and the partition .9 therefore presses upwardly into theangle of the groove formed by said flange.

The lower chamber or space 1/ of the tank q is filled with water up towithin a few inches of the partitions; but care must be taken that thewater does not reach said partition or grating, otherwise the filteringmaterial will be rendered unfit for use. For the purpose of showing theamount of water in the tank I provide it with the glass gage-tube 1-.Near the upper portion of the chamber a of the tank (1 istheinlet-nozzle tr,through which the said chamber u may be provided withwater when it is desired to change the water in said chamber, the dirtywater being run off from the outlet .1 at the bottom of said chamber.

At the lower part of the upper chamber 1 of the tank q, and just abovethe layer t of filteringmaterial,istheoutlet-nozzlez,through which theoil may be drawn off. I also provide the chamber 3/ with a glassgage-tube 1 by which the amount of oil in said chamber is shown.

" The operation of the filter is as follows:

The dirty oil or other lubricant which is to be filtered is placed inthe upper chamber a of the primary tank a. Thence it filters downthrough the thick t'elt c, leaving its coarser impurities thereon, thenthrough the layer (Z of filtering material, and through the foraminouspartition or grating 0 into the chamber 2) of said tank a. There anywater or any heavy impurities that may have come through the firstfiltering layer will fall to the bottom and enter the chamber L by thevalve 72, the valves 2' 2 being also open, and thus allowing a freepassage through the valve 71. \Vhen the oil in the chamber p rises tothe height of the outlet pipe o, it will flow down said outlet-pipe andenter the lower part of the lower chamber a of the secondary tank q. Byreason of its less specific gravity it will then pass upward through thewater in said chamber and will rise through the partition or grating sand layertof filtering material into the upper chamber y of the tankwhence it may be drawn off by the cock .2.

So perfect is the filtration by this process and apparatus that when socalled first-class commercial oil is used on shafts, bearings, &c., andafter receiving diseoloring matter and other impurities by such use, isfiltered in the manner and by the apparatus herein described, it will befound to be clearer and better than before its first use, and it may beused again and again filtered. A great saving is thus effected to theuser of the oil, a large proportion of the oil used on engines andmachines being capable of being collected after use and filtered.

0n the end of the tube 0 which enters the lower portion of the secondarytank q is a suitable valve adapted to let the oilenter the tank freelyand to prevent water from entering the tube.

\Vhen the oil from a cylinder of an engine is small in quantity ascompared with the water from condensed steam with which it is mixed, Iuse the secondary tank alone as an oil and water separator. For thispurpose I may detach it from the primary tank. I then connect the tubeentering the lower portion of the secondary tank by any suitable tube orconnection with the condenser of the e11- gine from which the oil andcondensed steam is to come. The mixture issues from the tube, enteringthe bottom of the secondary tank, as shown by arrows in Fig. 2, the oilrising to the upper portion of the chamber u, while the water willremain at the bottom of said chamher.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a suitable automatic valve-regulating device bywhich the water can be drawn off from the bottom of the tank as itaccumulates, and thus be prevented from reaching the layer of filteringmaterial. The said automatic valve-operating device consists of thefloat or ball 90', which is adapted to regulate the outlet-valve or atthe bottom of the tank through the lever .2" and connecting-rod a". Theball or float LC, may be arranged at different points in the upperchamber 1 of the tank, according to the different proportions of themixture of oil and water introduced at the bottom of the lower chamberof the tank. In case the percentage of oil is large the float may beplaced high up in said chamber, while if the percentage of oil is smallthe float may be placed lower in said chamber.

Instead of connecting the lower part of the secondary tank directly withthe condenser of an engine, I may connect said tube 0 with a funnel justabove the level of the said sec ondary tank, and then pour the mixedwater and oil into the said funnel.

Although the form of the primary tank a which I have described is to bepreferred, I do not limit myself to its exclusive use. In practice Ihave also used a primary tank having a flat bottom with no outlettherein and having no .false bottom, such as is shown in Fig. 1. Thisconstruction,by dispensing with the outlet m, inlet; a, false bottom g,and valves it'h,simplifles the apparatus and renders it much lessexpensive to manufacture than the form of primary tank shown in thedrawings. I have found that this simpler form of tank will answer itspurpose sufficiently, although, as I have said above, the form shown inFig. 1 is to be preferred.

I am aware that it is not new to filter oil through felt or woolencloth; but I would point out that cotton-wool and animal-wool by beingspun, woven, or otherwise formed into felt or cloth lose a great deal oftheir elastic spring and the hairy fibers attached to the principalfiber, and are rendered less effective as a filtering material thereby.The loose wool does not become sodden, and thus liable to let particlesof grit or other impurities pass through it so soon as does felt orflannel or other woolen fabric.

The special advantage of employing a filtering mixture, consisting ofwool in its natural springy state and cottonin its natural state, unspunand unwoven, the cotton and wool being thoroughly intermingled, is thatthe wool prevents the cotton from becoming sodden, and so preserves itsfibers in their extended state, that the latter serve as guides orconductors for the oil, -which is thereby conveyed through the filteringbed or body.

By causing the oil to be filtered to pass downwardly through a layer ofunspun unwoven animal and cotton wools in one tank and upwardly througha second layer of the same material in a second tank I attain a betterresultin clearing and purifying dirt-y oil than has yet been attained inany filter intended for the same purpose.

I do not limit myself to the formof partitions or gratings shown anddescribed. In place thereof I may use partitions of perforated sheetmetal or of any other suitable form, and I may use weights of iron orother suitable material as a means for holding down the upper partitionin the secondary tank.

I claim- 1. The primary tank or receptacle ct, having the false bottomg, which is provided with the valves '5 2' h, the chamber 713, the inlet12, the outlet m, the outlet-pipe 0, and the removable foraminouspartition or grating c, supporting the layer cl of the filteringmaterial, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

2. The secondary tank or receptacle q, having the inlet-pipe 0, theremovable foraminous partition or grating s, the removable foraminouspartition .9", and the layer of filtering material 15, held between thesaid two partitions, the inlet to, the outlet 0:, and the outlet 2, andthe inwardly-projecting flanges r and t for holding said partitions inplace, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described improved filtering bed or body, consisting ofanimal-wool in its natural springy state and cotton in its n.atu ralstate, unspun and unwoven, as set forth, said wool and cotton beingthoroughly intermingled.

4. 'In a tank or receptacle, the combination, with an inclined flangeprojecting inwardly from the walls thereof, of a partition or gratingformed of a series of flat metal rings arranged edgewise andconcentrically and joined together at different points, the outer ringof said grating resting in the groove formed by the said inclinedflange, and a packing of filtering material pressed into the apex ofsaid groove by said outer ring, as set forth.

5. In a tank or receptacle, the combination, with an inclined flangeprojecting inwardly and upwardly from the wall of said tank and anotherinclined flange projecting inwardly and downwardly from said wall andarranged above said upwardly-projecting flange, of the two partitions orgratings formed of a series of flat metal rings arranged edgewise andconcentrically and joined together at different points, the outer ringof one of said gratings or partitions resting in the trough or grooveformed by the said upwardly-projecting flange, and the outer ring of theother grating or partition being pressed upwardly into the trough orgroove formed by the said downwardly-projecting flange, and a mass ofyielding filtering material contained between said gratings orpartitions, as set forth.

6. In an oil separator or filter, the combination of a tank having afilter suitably sup ported at a point between its upper and lowerportions and dividing its interior into two compartments, an inlet pipeor tube through which a mixture of oil and water may be introduced intothe lower portion of the lower compartment, a float or ball in the uppercompartment, an outlet-valve at the bottom of the lower compartment, andconnections between said float or ball and said outletvalve, whereby thefloat is adapted by the rise or fall of oil in said upper compartment toopen or close the outlet-valve at the bot tom of the tank, and therebypermit or stop the escape of water from said outlet, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 30th day of April, A. D.1890.

JAMES JOHNSON. .Vitnesses:

JOHN PETERSON, BYRON S. SANDERS.

